Saturday, January 27, 2007

This postcard advertises the 1917 Saint Paul Outdoor Sports Carnival, one of the earlier versions of the St. Paul Winter Carnival. The first carnivals were held from 1886 to 1888 and 1896. They were again held in 1916 and 1917 and from 1937 to 1942. The Winter Carnival has been held annually since 1946.

Many pictures, including the 1917 ice palace, can be seen on an unofficial Winter Carnival website. That website also has links to other known St. Paul Winter Carnival websites.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Today's postcard is related to news about the freeze that damaged the citrus crop in California. From a recent news report :

Cold weather and freezing temperatures have decimated California's orange crop leaving the state's growers facing losses that could run to more than $1bn.The freezing temperatures prompted Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's governor, to proclaim a state of emergency in 10 of the state's counties.

This particular postcard also has an interesting back, so I have shown that too. The cancellation advertises the 1915 World's Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. The stamp is carefully placed, but upside down. I believe this is probably an instance of the Language of Stamps. An upside down stamp has become associated with the message "I love you." I don't know whether the sideways writing in the message space is of any significance, but the message itself is quite interesting. It is written from Aunt Vera to Vera Mae:

What do you think of this? Are you a nice girl,and do you take good care of Grandma? If I hear good reports of you —"We'll see what we'll see."

Among a number of hits on the web for Language of Stamps (most of which refer to a 2005 New York Times story) was one at a blog named "Orange Crate Art." What a coincidence! From this I learned that Orange Crate Artis a song by Van Dyke Parks and the title of a 1995 album by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson. "Orange crate art was a place to start."Nowadays, if you want to send someone some oranges from California, you don't even have to be in California. You can place an order online at a number of companies (e.g.,The Orange Store)—at least when oranges are available.

At the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 1983, Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor King. It was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986.

On January 17, 2000, for the first time, Martin Luther King Day was officially observed in all 50 U.S. states. The day is marked by demonstrations for peace, social justice and racial and class equality, as well as a national day of volunteer community service.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Jimmy Hatlo was the creator of the newspaper comic "They'll Do it Every Time." This comic originated in 1929 and was picked up for national distribution by King Features Syndicate in 1936. This comic is currently drawn by Al Scaduto and is distributed to more than 100 newspapers. Current examples of this and other King Features comics can be viewed at the King Features DailyINK website.Shown here is a linen postcard from the 1940s. The comic has been described as a humorous look at human hypocrisy. This particular example is about overweight women who buy garments that are too tight because they are planning to go on a diet. The salesladies, of course, have heard that theme many times before!

President Ford was born in Omaha, Nebraska, July 14, 1913. After attending Yale University Law School and serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1948.

President Ford served as a congressman from the State of Michigan for 25 years. He was nominated to the Vice-Presidency on October 12, 1973 following the resignation of Spiro Agnew. He succeeded to the Presidency on August 9, 1974.

Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United StatesJuly 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006

This postcard shows the "World's Largest Snowman" in North St. Paul, Minnesota. It is 44 feet tall and is made of stucco and steel.More information and a video of the giant snowman can be found at WCCO's Finding Minnesota.This statue was shown on the news this morning as an example of the only snowman that hasn't melted. The New Year's snow has been melting fast and is mostly gone already.

Monday, January 1, 2007

It's a White New Year's Day. The snow was only a week late. Now it looks a lot like the scene on this New Year Greeting postcard.We got a lot of rain first. Now it is bright and sunny with just enough snow to make everything look bright and clean, but not enough to make one feel snowed in.